Safety device for gas plants



May 8, 1928.

F. wbLFF SAFETY DEVICE FOR GAS PLANTS Filed June 17. 1926 N F Y H Patented May 8, p 1928. i

- snnnry nnvrcn roneAs PLANTSr This invention 5 relates 1 t forynse; l-n gas andauwmi crater gas plangts,;-, iurnacce cleaning plant:

and theflike, in whichga heatresponding. elc-: merit; provided within theifinncr flame ofan auxiliary. burner ted. by the a gas plant,

and which element is adapted tonactuatei;

shut ting ft means for the-gas supply on i the said flame exceeding a certain temperature.

T he. main object of 3 the] invention is to provide an improved and etiicient safety de vice, and one which will require comparatively very small forces to eiiect the shutting-01f oi the gas supply.

A further object of the invention rests in theprovision of a very. sensitive arrangement for the purpose,.which shall effectively combine quickness and reliability of action in use.

lVhereas the hitherto known devices were made directly to act on a stop valve or slide in the main gas conduit, with the accompanying disadvantage, inter aha, of comparatlvely very great forces having to be exerted or taken up by the heat responding element, the invention consists mainly in the provision of a water trap for shutting the conduit to be safeguarded. The operation of the valve provided to admit the water into the trap chamber and thus effect the closure may be efi'ected directly or indirectly by the heat responding element in the inner flame of the auxiliary burner.

Further objects and improvements will be apparent from the following description oi. the accompanying drawings and from the claims at the end of this specification. The said drawing diagrammatically illustrates the invention by way of example, the

figure representing a part-sectional side elevation of the arrangement.

In this drawing 1 1s a Bunsen burner fed,

for example, by a gas and air mixin plant.

Specifically the burner "is connecte by a branch A to the gas supply conduit 16, 17. A lengthwise movable rod 4. extends centrally through the said burner and is adapt ed to cause the closing of the gas supply conduit as soon as the heat responding, or

fusible, element 5 burns out, for example on account of a substantial change in the temperature or in the shape of the said inner flame. The element 5, disposed within the core of the flame and from which the rod 4 depends, consists of material which after a certain temperature is exceeded, melts, burns sing; plants, gen

' I lielfimiiqa woua 0F B RL N; mane;

ofcthe ufiame increases and exceeds. a certain .l value due to:any variation in.theromposn.

meltsf or burns; or explodes, so :thatvtherod 4 loses its :supporta: heneverthis isthe caSo Jtion of the gas mixture, then, thevelei nenbfi thegspringl .PIIllSm-tllGallOOka-B frcmhbelow the free end 9 of a level-'11 pivoted at 10, i

which lever swings down under the action of its weight 12 and thereby lifts the bottom valve 13 in the water tank 14 by means of its connection with the valve stem or bar 15. The Water contained in this tank or reservoir then flows down into the water trap chamber 18 which separates the two branches 16' and 17 of the gas supply conduit, and which chamber is centrally subdivided by a partition 19 ending with its lower edge some distance above the bottom of the said chamber. Onthe valve 13 being raised, the water flows in the aforesaid manner into the water trap chamber below. Its quantity is mensurated so as to fill the bottom part of the tied, while a drain co'ckor valve 22 admits of the chamber 18 being emptied after an etl'ected cut-off of the gas supply.

The valve 13 may be comparatively small and light in weight in order to be able to respond to small forces acting upon it and to also, keep the forces Which are to be transmitted from the burner as small as possible, particularly when the connecting rod l is directly connected to the lever 11. These forces may be still further reduced if an indirect Inannerof control such as illustrated in the drawing is resorted to.

What I claim is 1. A safety device for cutting off the flow of gas through a conduit comprising a gas supply conduit having an enlarged portion, a water reservoir above said enlarged portion, a partition depending from the reservoir and extending downwardly in said enlarged portion to form a trap, a valve to afford communication between the Water res ervoir and the trap, said valve being normally closed, a burner arranged in a branch of the gas supply conduit, a heat responding element arranged in the inner flame of the burner, means active to open said valve and a connection between said valve opening means and said heat responding element, said element and said connection serving to prevent operation of the valve opening means and to release said valve opening means and hence cause said valve to be opened when said heat responding element is subjected to excessive temperature in the core of the burner flame. V

2. A safety device for cutting off the flow of gas through a conduitas claimed in claim 1 including a constant level device to control the water inlet to the said water reservoir.

3.A. safety device for cutting off the fiow of gas through a conduit as claimed in claim 1 in which said valve operating means comprises a weighted lever connected to said valve, a bell crank lever having one arm arranged normally underthe weighted end of the first named lever and'the other arm attached to said connection to said heat responding element and a spring to trip said bell crank lever and cause the same to re lease said weighted leverwhen said bell crank lever is released by said heat responding element. 7

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRIEDRICH WOLFF. 

